Archery target



Jan. 5, 1965 M. L. STEWART ARCHERY TARGET Filed Sept. 14

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upright rods VVby springs.

United States .Patent 3,164,384 ARCHERY TARGET Marvin L. Stewart,Maplewood,`M0., assigner, by direct and mesne assigementsa to M. L.Stewart Enterprises, Enc., Belleville, Ill., a corporation o IllinoisFiled Sept. I4, 196i, Ser. No. 138,120 2 Claims. (Cl. 273 162.4)

pad against the front pad. A heavy canvas sheet vlines the rear face ofthe back pad.

Arrows shot atthe target first `strike the front pad and pass through tothe back pad. The spaces between the hairs permit arrows to pass throughthe target, but the latex coating im nediately retards an arrow enteringthe target. In. addition, when the arrow strikes the front pad, theupright rods tlex and the front pad mounting springs yield under theforce of the arrow. p After the arrow passes through the front pad andinto the backjpad its deceleration is even more pronounced because ofthe more tightly compacted rubberized hair and because of the resilientmounting of the back pad that further dampens the thrust of the arrow.Finally, the then slow moving arrow is stoppedby the heavy canvas sheet.

One of the drawbacks in conventional archery targets is their inabilityto stop high speed arrows. These arrows pass through the target andcontinue in ilight. Because of the potential damage the arrows can causeand because of possible damage to or loss of the arrows, the choice ofplacement of conventional targets is limited, This target, however, iscapable of stopping the fastest arrows. It is, therefore, a principalobgect of this invention to-provide an archery target that isresiliently suspended from a frame and that has an internal frictionalsubstance to retard arrows passing through it, with a heavy, relativelyimpervious sheet on the back of the targetto finally stop the arrows. g

Anotherobject is to provide anl archery target that has a rubberizedstring-like pad toward which arrows are shot, wherein the rubber part ofthe pad provides a frictional stopping force upon arrows.

A further object of the invention is to provide an archery target thathas a plurality of separate parts to be struck successively by an arrow,with each of the parts being separately resiliently mounted to dampenthe thrust of an arrow.

Another object of the invention is to provide an archery target that ismade of rubberized horse hair, hogs hair, straw, excelsior, or the like,whereby the body of the target is held in a compacted unit by the rubberpart and the unit can be cut to appropriate size from a large block. Acorollary object is to provide such a target wherein the central corepart of the target or other part that is `damaged by repeated strikingof arrows can be cut out and replaced by a plug cut from a piece of therubberized hair or the like. y

Still another object of the invention is `to provide an archery targetthat is supported by a stand made of flexible metal tubing to furtherdampen the thrust of arrows tired at the target and also to provide auarchery target that is supported by a stand hat can be readilydisassembled.

ice

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in theart.

Other springs hold the back FIGURE l is a side elevation view ot thearchery In the drawing: target; y

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation View of the archery target taken alongetheline 2 2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation view of the archery tari get taken alongthe line 3 3 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the base of the stand taken along the line 44 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation view in section of the target taken along`the line 5 5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a view in section taken along the line 6 6 of FIGURE 2 anddrawn on an enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary View, partly Vin section, showingthe connection between the kbase portion of the stand and the uprightportion of the stand.

Referring now tothe drawing, the target has a stand lil with a hase Iland an upright l2. The stand lil may lhave a variety of constructions,but the one'illustrated is desirable from vthe standpoint of readydisassembly.y

The base of the stand comprises a pair of horizontal metal rods i3, theends of which are bent downwardly to provide feet id. For stabilization,a pair of cross rods I5 are welded or Yotherwise attached to each of thehorizontal rods i3.

The upright l2 comprises a pair of rods 16 having bent lower ends i7.These lower ends I7 are fastened to the horizontalbase rods I3 by wingbolts IS. Above the base lill, the rods I6 are slightly inclined to thevertical so that the bends adjacent the lower ends I7 deine acuteangles. The rods Id, as well as other parts of the frame, are made of3ft; inch iron rod, and are, therefore,'exible,

especially at the bentparts adjacent the lower ends I7.

Vends ot the upright rods I6.

The circular rodhas a plurality of hooks 29, preferably four in numberand equally-spaced, depending inwardly from it. An end of a coil 'spring2l is attached to each hook Ztl. The other end of each spring isattached to another'hook 22 having a plate 23 that is confinedmainsection 24 of a target assembly 25.

The target assembly 2.5 generally has a main section 24 and a rearwardsection 26. Both of these' sectionsare made of rubberized hair, such ashogs hair, horse hair,

etc., or they may be made of rubberized straw, rubber-- ized celluloseor other string-like matter suspended within a self-sustaining rubberpad. An example of a target composition is a combination of fortypercent hogs hair, thirty percent horse hair and thirty percent cowshair, sprayed with neoprene latex paint. Otherwise, these pads ofrubberized strands are made by any conventional molding process. Therearward section 26 differs from the forward section 24 in being morecompact to thereby provide a greater stopping force against the thrustof arrows.

The forward section 24 has a burlap ring 27 about its outer edge. Thehooks 22 extend through the burlap, but the burlap retains the plates 23to keep the hooks 22 in place.

There is a thick canvas sheet Z across the back surfaceof the secondtarget section 26. This canvas sheet is vof about the same thickness ascanvas belting and is sufexposed surface of the canvas sheet 28. Theserods may be, but need not be, connected together at their centers by arivet Si). Therods 29 are of light gauge metal so arrows will not hitthem. A coil spring 3l is Connected by the there are a number of forcesapplied to arrows to stop y them. An arrow first strikes ythe maintarget section. As it does so, the upright rods 16 flex somewhat,bending rearwardly (to the left as viewed in FIGURE l), and the springs21 elongate, allowing the target assembly 25 to shift rearwardly underthe impact of the arrow. At the same time, the rubber constituent of thepad 24 applies a yfrictional stopping force to the arrow as it passesthrough the target section 24.

When the arrow enters the second target section 26, that target sectionis allowed, by the springs 31, to move rearwardly of the iirst targetsection, thus applying additional dampening to the thrust of the arrow.In passing Ythrough the second target section 26, the arrow is morerapidly decelerated because of the more compact composition of thesecond target section 26.

The arrow finally strikes the canvas sheet 28 and is stopped. Y Y

One of the, advantages of this target is that the target sections 24 and26 are self-sustaining and parts of them can be cut away and replaced bya plug. For example, the center of the target illustrated is assumed tohave been Vhit so often by arrows as tohave finally been damaged.

ThisV center has been cut away, leaving an opening 33. A plug 34, cutfrom a separate pad included with the target for the purpose, iills thehole 33. Thus, damaged parts of the target can be repaired easily and anew target need not be bought.

, Another advantage of this target is its light Weight. A targetassembly 25 of about four feet in diameter weighs only about twelvepounds compared to about titty-eight pounds for conventional strawtargets.

Y This target Vcan be disassembled for shipment and for transportrby theowner. The upright section 12 of the frame is removed from the base 11by simply removing the wing bolts 18. VThe target assembly is removedfrom the frame by unhoolring the springs 21. The second tar-V getsection 26 is removed from theV main target section 24 by unhookingl thesprings 31. Reassembly is correspondingly easy, and when the target isassembled, it is attrae- ;tive enough to complement the landscape of anyresidence.

This target is weatherproof. It need not be brought in l duringinclement weather and can be used immediately following precipitation.It does not become water-logged as do conventional straw targets.

Various changes and modifications may be made within the process of thisinvention as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Suchchanges and modifications are within the scope and teaching of thisinvention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

Vvhat is claimed is:

1. An archery target comprising iirst and second pads, each of said padsbeing comprised of substantially the same rubberized composition havinga plurality of hairlike strands randomly suspended in situ therein, saidhair-like strands consisting of at least one member of the groupconsisting of cow hair, horse hair and hog hair, the composition beingself-sustaining, said second pad being under relatively greatercompression than said lirst pad, said first pad having a removablecentrally located core having a composition essentially the same as saidtirst and second pads.

2. An archery target comprising a frame having a base portion adapted torest iiat upon the ground and an upright portion, means for releasablyattaching the upright portion to the base portion, a target assembly,yieldable means for suspending the target assembly in spaced relationfrom the upright portion of the frame, the target assembly comprising aplurality of units, said units being each comprised of a rubberized padcomposition having a plurality of hair-like strands imbedded in situ insaid rubberized composition, elastic means for compressing the secondpad against the back of the first, said elastic means extending acrossthe rear of the second pad and compressing the second pad against thefirst pad while leaving the first pad relatively uncompressed, and saidiirst pad having a replaceable rearwardly tapering center core.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS225,734 Tangeman Mar, 23, 1880 1,837,627 Mead et al. Dec. 22, 19312,722,420 Adamson Nov. 1, 1955 3,048,401 Dishon Aug. 7, 1962 FOREIGNPATENTS 5,295 Great Britain 1886 696,139 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1953

1. AN ARCHERY TARGET COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND PADS, EACH OF SAID PADSBEING COMPRISED OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME RUBBERIZED COMPOSITION HAVINGA PLURALITY OF HAIRLIKE STRANDS RANDOMLY SUSPENDED IN SITU THEREIN, SAIDHAIR-LIKE STRANDS CONSISTING OF AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUPCONSISTING OF COW HAIR, HORSE HAIR AND HOG HAIR, THE COMPOSITION BEINGSELF-SUSTAINING, SAID SECOND PAD BEING UNDER RELATIVELY GREATERCOMPRESSION THAN SAID FIRST PAD, SAID FIRST PAD HAVING A REMOVABLECENTRALLY LOCATED CORE HAVING A COMPOSITION ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS SAIDFIRST AND SECOND PADS.